An animated series that ties in with the popular Barbie toyline, Barbie: Life in the Dreamhouse is a 2012 web series produced by Mattel. The series follows a Slice of Life look into Barbie's, well, life in her Malibu dream house, with brief Reality Television-esque asides into Barbie and her friends' thoughts. Barbie attends parties, goes to the beach, dates Ken, hangs out with her sisters, and does all of the sort of things you would expect Barbie to do. What's unexpected is the massive helping of AffectionateSelf-Parody, Medium Awareness, and Parental Bonus on display, adding up to a lovingly parodic version of the Barbie universe not completely out of line with her Toy Story 3 depiction.

The major difference between this series and all previous Barbie series (or not, more later) is that this version stars not just Barbie the character, but Barbie the doll (or maybe it's Barbie the characterplaying Barbie the doll...). In any case, the entire universe is Toy Time incarnate, with all of the characters having visible plastic jointsnote In fact, Midge, being an older doll, is portrayed as not being fully articulate, and all of the technology running off toy rules (e.g., the showers are powered by hand pumps; the cars use giant D-cell batteries, etc). The show is very aware of this.

Aluminum Christmas Trees: Chelsea owns a dollhouse even smaller than the Dreamhouse, inhabited by inanimate dolls even smaller than herself and the other leads. Even though this sounds like a Mind Screw, Mattel really does make dollhouses and dolls small enough for Barbies (and American Girls) to play with.

Raquelle and Ryan win Doll vs. Dessert, due to competitor Teresa eating hers and Barbie's cupcakes before the judge can.

Bag of Holding: Ken manages to pull two chairs, a table, a vase of flowers, a chandelier, and a fireplace out of a giant pink picnic basket, in addition to standard picnic supplies (tablecloth, plates, utensils, sandwiches, sherbet).

Be Careful What You Wish For: In "Bizarro Barbie," Raquelle stumbles into an alternate version of Malibu, where she, and not the bland Blarbie, is the constant center of attention. Everyone she meets praises her, and she opens a boutique that becomes extremely successful, but she quickly grows bored of not having Barbie to compete with. In her own words:

Belly Buttonless: When Game Show Host Skipper quizzes Barbie's friends on how long Barbie has had a belly button for, Teresa admits she doesn't even know what a belly button is, and Barbie confesses that she can't remember when she got it.

Big Eater: In the season four episode "The Ken Den", Barbie is checking out Ken's new guys-only club when she spies a giant rack of barbecue ribs, the next shot is of her eating the ribs, while covered in barbecue sauce, while sitting next to a rib-eating-contest trophy.

When Summer lives in the Dreamhouse for a couple days, she eats all of the food in the Dreamhouse...for breakfast!

Bigger on the Inside: The dreamhouse itself, of course, but there's also her palatial camper. And her closet...

Bizarre Seasons: Midge claims that she and Barbie endured some of these. "Back in Wisconsin, we had rain, hail, tornados, and snowstorms. We never let it ruin our Fourth of July!"

Bizarro Universe: "Bizarro Barbie" sends Raquelle to an alternate version of Malibu. While there, she effortlessly steals the spotlight of their Barbie (gloomy Blarbie), and makes friends with their Nikki and Teresa (agreeable Vicki and Clarrisa, respectively).

Blond Brunette Redhead: In that order: Barbie, Nikki, and Teresa, at least initially. This arrangement gets pretty much blown out of the water as the cast expands, although it's worth nothing that the three girls that have been added to the cast fit this, too (Summer, Raquelle, and Midge, respectively).

Chelsea and her friends, seen in "Dream a Little Dreamhouse", form this kind of trio.

Break the Cutie: Barbie fails to retain her composure during a city-wide shortage of glitter. Notably, she cries right after a TV broadcast crew finishes filming her telling the others This Is no Time to Panic, and eventually becomes so desperate for shiny clothing, she wraps herself in tin foil.

By the Lights of Their Eyes: When Teresa and Nikki slide through a dark passageway in one scene of "Closet Princess", they look like eyeballs floating against a dark backdrop.

The Cameo: He-Man in "The Shrinkerator". It was actually a vintage 1980s He-Man action figure.

Camera Abuse: The cameraman gets hit by a beach ball in "Party Foul", a pillow in "A Spooky Sleepover", and Raquelle in "Doll vs. Dessert". In the first case, Nikki apologizes for kicking the ball in his direction.

Barbie: What in the world? Ken: I'm on it! Chelsea: Can we [whatever she wants at the moment], Barbie? Can we, can we? Skipper:*frustrated groan*

Cats Are Mean: Blissa disagrees, but: "It's not being mean, it's building character!"

Cheaters Never Prosper: Teresa bets Lethal Chef Barbie to give her a pedicure if she can't bake a batch of cupcakes without causing a disaster. Barbie tries to use her "Little Miss Cupcake-ilator" to whip up a batch, but since she can't remember how to turn it off (unplug it), she floods her kitchen with cupcakes. Teresa declares herself the winner.

Cheerful Child: You can't bring Chelsea down, even when she doesn't get her tennis ball-firing robot.

Continuity Nod: The answers to Skipper's questions in "Let's Make a Doll" contain some facts about Barbie that might sound more familiar to older fans than to younger ones, such as her middle name, her parents' names, and her 1980s rock band's name.

Contrived Coincidence: While Barbie and her friends discuss the possibility of opening a boutique, they find an empty store at the strip mall.

Could Have Avoided This Plot: In "Little Bad Dress," Barbie tells Nikki that she could use the emergency dress in her purse to turn Teresa back to normal. Nikki asks Barbie why she didn't pull out that dress earlier, so Barbie answers, "It's from last season."

Disco Dan: Apparently everyone from Barbie's birthplace of Willows, Wisconsin, including Midge, remains trapped in the late 1950s/early 1960s. "Things are a bit behind the times there. They don't have computers, or cell phones, or...even colors!"

Discretion Shot: Ryan doesn't let the viewers the entirety of the Imagine Spot where he and Barbie sit by the fireplace, explaining that it's "...too good to share!"

The Ditz: Teresa: "We're famished. And starving!" Everyone to an extent, of course.

Dueling Shows: In universe, Life in the Dreamhouse reportedly creamsDoll vs. Dessert in the ratings.

Eat The Camera: After Chelsea tires of Barbie asking if she wants a unicorn for her birthday, she gives a Big "NO!", and the camera zooms into her mouth. The camera then zooms out of Ken's mouth as he gives a Big "NO!" while facing the tennis-playing robot.

Elevator Failure: The Dreamhouse's elevator can only hold one doll at a time. If another doll tries to join the ride, they both get stuck in between the first and second floors.

Follow the Leader: In universe, Raquelle opens a boutique to compete with Barbie's. However, after Raquelle asks Ryan to fill their store with "irresistible" products, he stocks it with merchandise of himself, instead of clothes.

Friendly Enemy: Barbie and Raquelle, although the amount depends on the episode. Barbie genuinely seems to consider Raquelle her friend, and to her credit, Raquelle has attended some of Barbie's events, including her sleepover, without plans to sabotage them. She even joined forces with Barbie to help give Ken a makeover.

Raquelle even lampshades this in "Bizarro Barbie," when she comments that she needs to "find a more gorg group of frenemies." Of course, the ending proves that deep down, she does care about not only Barbie, but Nikki and Teresa as well.

Gamer Chick: Skipper is more of a techno-gadget chick, but she's definitely got the female nerdity down.

Genius Ditz: Teresa has her moments. In "Stuck with You," Ken is her partner in a game of charades. One of their phrases is eighteen words long. Ken points to his foot, and Teresa immediately knows the answer:

Teresa: Fall fashion sale at Malibu Mall but they're all sold out of the cool boots in your size!

One of Ryan's Valentine's Day fantasy sequences of winning over Barbie involves the two of them sitting on the floor in front of a fireplace with Sexophone music as she says "Oh, Ryan..." and winks, at which point Ryan cuts the fantasy, turning to the audience and saying 'Uh uh - this fantasy sequence is too good to share!'

Graceful Losers: If Barbie or Chelsea doesn't get first place in a competition, she doesn't seem to have trouble brushing off the defeat. The same can't always be said for Sore Loser Summer, though.

Gratuitous German: Raquelle uses this when commanding her disobedient dog, Brunhilde. She still refuses to obey.

"Sticker It Up" begins and ends with Barbie's sisters ordering an inconveniently high amount of furniture.

"Gone Glitter Gone" has Malibu survive the glitter shortage, only to learn that the cupcake bakers have run out of sprinkles.

Hopeless Suitors: Raquelle and Ryan constantly try, and fail, to make Ken and Barbie love them more than they love each other. Midge also has a one-sided crush on Ryan.

I Do Not Like Green Eggs and Ham: In "Another Day at the Beach", Summer and Midge each reluctantly participate in one of the other's favorite activities. Summer tries to make macramé, and enjoys it so much, she and Midge decide to have a "macramé-off". Midge goes cage diving, but doesn't have fun doing it.

Instant Costume Change: Barbie promises that her technical institute can help people change jobs as quickly as she can change her outfit. The camera cuts to Ryan looking excited for a second, then cuts back to Barbie, wearing completely different clothes than at the start of the commercial.

Barbie also does this in "Party Foul" and "Catty on the Catwalk", albiet without the camera cutting away from her. Nikki follows her lead in the former of those shorts.

Raquelle and her party guests frequently change their clothes in "Party Foul".

Laugh Track: "A Smidge of Midge" uses one to emulate old sitcoms, but only Skipper and the viewers can hear it.

Lethal Chef: Barbie may be good at everything, but she's not a great baker. She won't admit to it, though.

Subverted with Stacie. She throws an entire carton of eggs, styrofoam container and all, into a bowl, along with the sugar box. She sticks the whole thing into the oven without a pan... and it turns into a perfect, already-decorated cake. "Baking can be hard work."

Lovable Alpha Bitch: Raquelle is this in spades. She's manipulative, pushy, devious, spoiled, and occasionally downright evil, but has, on more than one occasion, shown a softer, kinder side. This is especially true in "Bizarro Barbie," when she reveals that she actually likes Barbie, Nikki, and Teresa, and considers them close friends.

Love Triangle: Barbie and Ken are dating, of course, but Ryan wants in on Barbie. The same can be said for his twin Raquelle, who wants Ken for herself.

"A Smidge of Midge" includes one when Barbie and her sisters introduce some contemporary fashions to Midge.

Meddlesome Patrolman: The security guard of Malibu Mall, who tickets Raquelle and Summer for everything from loitering to walking around without giant sunglasses.

Mega Neko: Well, Barbie and Raquelle were shrunk, but Blissa still counted.

Merchandise-Driven: It IS a cartoon based on the dolls themselves, so naturally. Though the series also spawned its own toys- dolls based on a cartoon, based on a doll...

Mind Screw: After Midge makes a picture frame out of some seashells, she fills the frame with a photo of herself and Barbie taking a photo of themselves, taken from an angle where you can actually see Barbie and Midge holding a camera to photograph their faces.

Missing Trailer Scene: The On the Next segment at the end of "Gone Glitter Gone Part 1" shows Barbie and two of her sisters chasing Skipper through the foyer, after Skipper swipes Chelsea's last jar of glitter.

"Happy Birthday Chelsea" seems to start with Chelsea about to sing about how much fun she'll have on her birthday, but Skipper cuts her off by calling her to breakfast. Later on, Barbie asks Chelsea if she'd like to sing a "special birthday song", but Chelsea refuses.

Mystery Box: Before Skipper gives Teresa, Nikki, Midge, and Raquelle the final question in her game show, she asks if any of them would like to open Door #3 instead. Raquelle refuses, recalling how many other game shows have lame Consolation Prizes. It later turns out that Door #3 had Ken behind it.

Noodle Implements: "I'm gonna make this Raquelle's best day ever! All I need is duct tape, some pea soup, rubber boots, and a couple of turkey feathers." The viewers never find out what she did with the feathers.

Parody Sue: Barbie herself, natch. The series love to hang lampshades on her ridiculous job history, such as asking how she managed to be a racecar driver once without learning how to drive, or her bafflement when she learns that her friends haven't been to the moon.

Police Code for Everything: When Ken is patrolling the yard for intruders during Barbie's slumber party and runs into Ryan trying to scare the girls with a zombie getup (In the insane belief that they will then leap into his arms because he's the nearest guy), Ken wrestles with Ryan and demands he stop resisting arrest, then later upgrades it to a "10-42", "Resisting arrest while obsessing over hair products".

I just came here for cake. Teresa wanted to come. So, why is she acting all snotty and obnoxious? She's...snobnoxious!

Race Against the Clock: In "Mall Madness", Barbie, Midge, Summer, and Raquelle have to meet at a rendezvous point by 3:00 PM. However, Summer and Raquelle also have to avoid getting ticketed by security, and Midge constantly stops by various stores and stands.

Running Gag: The Schlond Poofa, the muffler of Barbie's car, has a tendency to become disconnected from the car and turn up in random places.

Another gag has Barbie commenting that a professional of some kind is needed, including a vet or a pilot. Skipper inevitably chimes in, "Weren't you a vet/pilot/[insert profession]?" It's lampshaded in "Doctor Barbie"—Barbie says that Chelsea needs a doctor, and nothing happens. She loudly repeats, "I SAID, we DO need to go to a DOCTOR!"...and Skipper comes running in, out of breath, to ask, "Weren't you a doctor?"

Sassy Black Woman: Nikki's cast profiles states that she is "Smart, sassy, and totally fun to be around"

When encountering Ryan in zombie makeup, Ken lets out a high pitched scream, which he then tries to cover up with a low pitched scream, which he then tries to cover up by clearing his throat and bravely asking Ryan what he's doing in Barbie's yard.

Sensitive Guy and Manly Man: Played with with Ken and Ryan. Despite Ryan wanting to play up the brooding Manly Man part it turns out he's just as sensitive as Ken is.

Serial Escalation: Season two has more outlandish storylines than the first one did. The cartoon went from showing Barbie go to the beach, attend parties, and redecorate her house to showing Barbie get trapped in her giant closet, become even smaller than doll-sized, and pursue dolphins that escaped into the sewer.

Possibly "Closet Princess". Barbie and her friends enter the closet so Barbie can find the butterfly barrette she wants to wear on her next date with Ken. After a day's worth of exploring, Barbie finds the barrette in her pocket. Despite this, she denies the journey was all for nothing, since she found a nice necklace to wear.

"Dream a Little Dreamhouse" has Barbie, Ken, Skipper, and Stacie decide to build Chelsea a playhouse. She tries to tell them that she already has one, but they don't listen, and labor for hours constructing another. This second playhouse falls apart right when Chelsea opens the door.

Shaped Like Itself: For one of the gang's trips to the beach, Barbie packs a picnic basket with "crabcakes, hotcakes, cupcakes, and cake-cakes."

She Cleans Up Nicely: Ryan thinks this of Midge after she changes her appearance from black and white to color.

Silly Love Songs: The songs performed in the music videos featured in "I Want My BTV" and "Everybody Needs a Ken".

Skewed Priorities: After Barbie and Stacie discover that someone has been stealing furniture from the Dreamhousespoiler It turns out to be Chelsea furnishing her new playhouse, Skipper runs in to tell Barbie that she can't shower. Barbie asks if they ran out of shampoo, despite her buying a 50-gallon tub, but Skipper informs her that the whole shower went missing. Barbie responds by again asking if they still have the shampoo.

Slow No: Barbie says this as she rushes to stop Raquelle from activating the Shrinkerator.

Slumber Party: Barbie throws one in "A Spooky Sleepover", with help from a mobile app that suggests different activities.

Spelling Song: "Everybody Needs a Ken" has Teresa and Nikki spell out Ken's name while Barbie sings the chorus. They even try to shape themselves into the letters.

Spider-Sense: Ken can detect from a distance if Barbie needs help with something.

Split-Screen Phone Call: Barbie has one with Teresa and Nikki in "Licensed to Drive", with Barbie demonstrating the ability to pass objects over the split line.

Springtime for Hitler: Trying to give Raquelle a spot in the sun, Barbie takes her own bad hair day and tries to turn it into a full-blown fashion disaster. Being Barbie, she instead ends up starting a fashion trend.

Stealth Insult: "It's always brave when a friend tries out a new look. And in this case, Ken was being really, really brave! Like, plaid with stripes brave!"

Tastes Like Purple: Teresa claims that Barbie told her (and apparently Skipper as well), that if she became an ice cream flavor, she would choose "pink" flavor.

Taught by Experience: When Skipper's inventions for making over patrons of Barbie's boutique make Raquelle actually look worse than before, Skipper proceeds to detect and repair glitches in the devices quickly enough for Barbie to see how efficiently they can serve patrons when in proper condition.

Tempting Fate: Barbie asks Ken if he finds it safe for him to tend to her plastic pox alone. Ken simply asks, "What's the worst that could happen?" The scene then cuts to a healed Barbie tending to a pox-infected Ken. Fortunately, he admits that he doesn't mind feeling sick if it means keeping Barbie by his side.

That Poor Cat: A cat yowl is heard after the giant roll of masking tape bounces away in "Closet Clothes Out".

That Was Not A Dream: Barbie has to say this to Ken after purposely deciding to let Raquelle outshine her.

Theme Tune Cameo: Chelsea sings, "Life in my dreeeamhouse!" at the end of "Dream a Little Dreamhouse".

Hey, hey! Life in the Dreamhouse! Oh, yeah! Life in the Dreamhouse! Barbie: Life in the Dreamhouse!(bow wow)

Toppled Statue: Raquelle has a statue of herself erected at Malibu Mall. Since the statue proves a hazard to low-flying planes, some of the other dolls destroy it.

Trade Snark: The written summaries for the episodes indicate that the trademark is actually part of Barbie's name.

Trophy Room: Barbie's closet has a ton of clothes she never wears anymore (including the uniforms for all the jobs she's ever had), but she still holds on to them because she associates each with a different memory. Ironically, the room where she keeps her actual trophies doesn't seem as well organized.

Vacation Episode: The reunion show promises an episode in which Barbie and the gang go to Paris. The "clip" becomes revealed as simply everyone standing in front of a backdrop.

Vague Age: The entire plot of Episode 13, where it's Barbie's birthday and most of the gang try futilely to figure out Barbie's age.

Nikki: Well, I know she was a doctor once, and you have to go to school for, like, eleven years to do that... Teresa: She ran for President once! You have to be at least thirty-five for that, so let's see... carry the one... uh... What am I adding?

Valentine's Day Episode: "Playing Heart to Get" sees Ryan compete with Ken in giving Barbie the best Valentine's presents.

Chelsea would have put a mermaid on her lemonade sign if not for "some coffee shop" beating her to it.

"Let's do something together, like tossing around this generic flying disc!"

Your Favorite: Raquelle tries to convince Barbie to help her improve her modeling behavior by baking her peanut butter fudge cookies, which she assumes Barbie considers her favorite. Barbie admits that she actually prefers a different kind of cookie,note We don't find out exactly what kind before Raquelle interrupts, but we do learn that one of the ingredients consists of chocolate. but still helps Raquelle out of the goodness of her heart.

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